This invention relates to a method for making new products from used tires. In particular, the method produces a flat, elongated product made from used tires which may be used for posts, landscaping tiles, roadway bridges and other useful products.
Millions of steel-belted tires are discarded by the consuming public each year. Fees are now being charged in order to dispose of these tires, which have become a major environmental problem. Since used tires are not biodegradable, they survive in the environment for hundreds or even thousands of years. Special dumping areas for these discarded tires have been created, although this only partially solves the problem of the accumulation of millions of tires each year. It would be most helpful if these used tires could be converted into useful products. It is an object of this invention to provide a new method to produce new products which utilize used tires as a raw material.
It has been known in the prior art to convert used tires into cylindrical poles or other cylindrical devices. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,246,754 issued to Edward Miller in 1993, describes a general purpose construction element such as a post, pole, or beam that is constructed from discarded used tire casings. While the method creates a cylindrical post or pole made from used tires, the method described in Miller and the end product have certain inherent limitations. For example, the posts or beams described in Miller are all cylindrical, and hence could not be utilized for flat walls, flat posts, or other types of construction elements requiring a square or rectangular cross-section.
Miller improved upon his first patent with a 1995 patent which described a construction block element made from used tire casings. In this patent, U.S. Pat. No. 5,472,750, Miller disclosed that tires may be cut into mats which can be stacked and secured into blocks by means of straps. The main reason for the creation of the blocks is for transportation, although Miller did envision that the blocks, as secured by adhesives, bands, or pins, could be used as building blocks for other construction applications. Miller does not make any accommodation for long, rectangular shaped mats or blocks or for tall rectangular-shaped posts. It is an object of this invention to utilize used tires to create long or tall posts or blocks having a rectangular cross-section.
It is a still further object of this invention to provide a method and resultant product for creating flat, wide blocks and mats and flat, strong, posts or rails having a rectangular cross-section and being held together without the use of adhesives, bands, or pins.
Since the raw materials for creating this new product (used tires) are readily available, the new products created herein for landscaping, roofs, roadway uses, posts or other barriers, would be inexpensive to produce. In addition, the general environment would be greatly enhanced by returning this heretofore non-usable discarded tire to a useful purpose.
Other and further object of this invention will become apparent upon reading the below described Specification.
A used tire is first prepared for remanufacture by cutting the generally toroidal shaped tire across the tread and sidewalls. The tire is then stretched out and laid generally flat. The sidewalls are then removed from both sides of the tread, leaving an approximately 6 to 6xc2xd inch wide tread surface section. The inside of the tire is then thoroughly cleaned. A second tire is similarly cut and prepared. A vulcanizing compound is then applied to the inside surface of each tire tread section and these inside surfaces are pressed together. The flattened tire tread sections are then held together for approximately four hours under approximately 3,000 pounds of pressure. The two tire thread portions, now joined by vulcanizing, create a flat building block element. Elements may be joined together in various patterns, for example, with each successive layer being turned perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the layer below. These building element sections can create long, narrow beams with a rectangular cross section for posts or landscape rails.
A number of these structures can be laid together in alternating perpendicular fashion to create large, strong mats, or blocks of varying sizes. The vulcanizing method creates a strong bond and straps, other adhesives or pins are not required in order to create these construction blocks and posts having a generally rectangular cross-section.